I leave in the morning (a few hours away actually) to NYC in part to meet several new clients from the Topps E. coli outbreak, but also to meet with representatives of YUM Brands to try and resolve several E. coli cases stemming from the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak of 2006. Interestingly, today, YUM Brands outlined its third-quarter financials:
The domestic division of YUM Brands has been struggling. In the company’s third quarter, U.S. profit grew only 1 percent. Even worse, same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, dropped 6 percent at Taco Bell. Much of the problem rests with the Mexican fast food chain, which is still reeling from an E. coli outbreak last year and publicity related to a rat infestation in a KFC/Taco Bell New York City restaurant in February.
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The company says its U.S. business is starting to turn around and sees signs of a recovery at Taco Bell. "With each month that passes, those memories tend to fade from the consumers’ minds," says Morningstar analyst John Owens.
Hopefully, we will be able to resolve all the cases without the necessity of further litigation. There is nothing like a little litigation to help folks remember things – perhaps we can re-run the famous YouTube video shot in NYC:
